Pathophysiology Faith Integration Paper

This paper explores the integration of faith and spirituality in the context of pathophysiology and chronic illness. It discusses the patient's views on chronic illness, recommendations for addressing spiritual needs, and the reflection of the author's own spirituality in providing care.

Running head: PATHOPHYSIOLOGY FAITH INTEGRATION PAPER 1
Pathophysiology Faith integration paper
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PATHOPHYSIOLOGY FAITH INTEGRATION PAPER 2
Pathophysiology faith Integration paper
Introduction
Spirituality is defined differently among different people. It can either mean faith or
things that offer a sense of personal meaning in life as well as death. Whenever offering care to
the patients, studies recommend that spiritual needs should always be on the forefront. The same
study reckon that chronic diseases like cancer alter the meaning, values and faith of the patient in
most cases ("Hospital Chaplaincy in the Twenty-First Century: The Crisis of Spiritual Care on
the NHS," 2010). In order to address the chronic conditions, it is essential that spiritual needs are
addressed. This is because addressing the spiritual needs makes the patient accept the situation
and deal with it positively. Addressing spiritual needs is therefore the secret weapon in handling
patients with chronic conditions. Within the framework of this essay, there will be an illustration
of how a patient I provided an assessment view chronic illness, the recommendations on the
patient’s spiritual needs and finally, a reflection on my own spirituality and how it applies when
providing care to the patient.
How the patient views chronic illness
I settled to conduct an assessment to a patient who was suffering from end stage cancer of
the lungs. The patient had very unique perceptions about the condition and life in general. First
the patient felt that the chronic condition or the lung cancer cannot heal unless there is a miracle.
The patient also noted that the chronic condition is likely to negatively affect him and his entire
family due to depression. About general life, the patient claimed that once he was diagnosed with
the chronic condition, he felt that there was no need to live. Generally, the patient had no hope
that life would bring something good.

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Recommendations on patients spiritual needs
There are different recommendations that I would advocate for the patients spiritual
needs. First, I will encourage the patient to pray or pray with him as well. According to research,
many patients with chronic conditions will always ask for prayers. The same studies explain that
prayer helps to connect with spiritual dimension (Ross et al., 2016). Therefore, in case a patient
asks for a prayer, I would adapt the prayer to meet the patients’ needs and beliefs. For my case,
the patient was suffering from lung cancer and I would therefore modify the prayer to suit
cancer. Furthermore, I would ask the patient what exactly he would like us to pray for and act
according to his wishes. While catering for spiritual needs of patients suffering from chronic
conditions like cancer, nurses should ensure that they tailor the prayers to specifically meet the
patients’ needs or desires.
Use of inspirational words and music would also work wonders in meeting the patient’s
spiritual needs. According to recent surveys, patients suffering from chronic conditions like lung
cancer would find comfort in reading sacred texts as well as inspirational quotes or texts. In this
case, I would therefore inquire from the patient some of his favorable books then read out to him
some of the inspirational quotes from the same books (Rodin et al., 2015). Furthermore, I would
provide source of entertainment by asking the genre of music that the patient enjoys listening to.
I can also go ahead and ask the family members to come along with the patient’s favorite playlist
or CD player.
Reflection on my own spirituality and how it applies on caring for the patient

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As a healthcare professional or nurse in particular, I believe that spirituality plays a
critical role towards recovery when providing care to different patients. Personally, I have
encountered several scenarios that confirm the same. In one instance, I came across a patient
whose condition had totally deteriorated and was on the verge of death. Since my spirituality
provides hope in times of despair, I tried my best to provide spiritual care to this patient who was
almost dying. I therefore resort to making inquiry from the patient on what his church teach
about end of life situations (Willemse, Smeets, Van Leeuwen, Janssen, & Foudraine, 2017). I
also asked the patient about the role of pastoral care for the dying. The family indicated that the
patient had abandoned his catholic faith sometimes back. However, since I acknowledge the
importance of religion in such cases, I had to convince the family members to come along with a
priest prior to surgery since this patient had been scheduled for surgery but he was so down
spiritually. The following day, the catholic priest came in and celebrated the sacrament together
with the patient. After that, the patient said that he felt more peaceful and comfortable (Zollfrank
et al., 2015). From this encounter, I learnt that spirituality component is very important
especially when providing end of life care. It is therefore important that nurses and all the
stakeholders that provide care to patients to inquire and meet the patients spiritual needs during
such hard moments.
Conclusion
Spiritual needs are things that offer meaning both in life and death. Sometimes it is good
to reflect on our spirituality and apply the same to patients when providing care. Like in the case
of my patient, some patients lose hope in life once diagnosed with chronic conditions. I would
recommend encouraging prayer by both the patient and the caregiver. However, the prayer
should be tailored to meet the patient’s needs. Use of inspirational readings and music can work

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effectively as proposed by different studies. Spiritual needs play a critical role in ensuring the
patient feels comfortable and at peace as they wait for their death. Therefore, it is the role of the
nurses to conduct a spiritual assessment that will form the basis of providing care to the patients
suffering from chronic conditions.

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References
Hospital Chaplaincy in the Twenty-First Century: The Crisis of Spiritual Care on the NHS.
(2010). Nursing Philosophy, 11(2), 144-146. doi:10.1111/j.1466-769x.2009.00432.x
Rodin, D., Balboni, M., Mitchell, C., Smith, P. T., VanderWeele, T. J., & Balboni, T. A.
(2015). Whose role? Oncology practitioners’ perceptions of their role in providing
spiritual care to advanced cancer patients. Supportive Care in Cancer, 23(9), 2543-
2550. doi:10.1007/s00520-015-2611-2
Ross, L., Giske, T., Van Leeuwen, R., Baldacchino, D., McSherry, W., Narayanasamy, A.,
… Schep-Akkerman, A. (2016). Factors contributing to student nurses'/midwives'
perceived competency in spiritual care. Nurse Education Today, 36, 445-451.
doi:10.1016/j.nedt.2015.10.005
Willemse, S., Smeets, W., Van Leeuwen, E., Janssen, L., & Foudraine, N. (2017). Spiritual
Care in the ICU: Perspectives of Dutch Intensivists, ICU Nurses, and Spiritual
Caregivers. Journal of Religion and Health, 57(2), 583-595. doi:10.1007/s10943-
017-0457-2
Zollfrank, A. A., Trevino, K. M., Cadge, W., Balboni, M. J., Thiel, M. M., Fitchett, G., …
Balboni, T. A. (2015). Teaching Health Care Providers To Provide Spiritual Care: A
Pilot Study. Journal of Palliative Medicine, 18(5), 408-414.
doi:10.1089/jpm.2014.0306

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